Today is the fifth day of Black History Month. Because the current administration is racist, fascist and wants to deny the existence and histories of anyone that isn’t cis-het and white, there are some important things everyone should remember during this month — and every single month:
- You can’t love Black artists and their work, and not see them as people
- Black lives — and Black art matters
- Black culture is American culture
As we go through the month, I’m going to talk about a collection of Black artists. It’ll be fairly comprehensive and eclectic list — although it won’t be a complete list. Of course, there are some important Black artists, who were also born during Black History Month.
So far, I’ve talked about the following, extraordinary artists:
- Big Boi, who also celebrated his 50th birthday on February 1
- Rick James, who was born 77 years ago on February 1
- James Brown, the legendary Soul Brother #1
- The Temptations‘ Dennis Edward, who also was born 82 years ago on February 3
- Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the godmother of rock ‘n’roll
Bobby Brown celebrates his 56th birthday today. Brown is a co-founder of New Edition, one of the more commercial R&B/pop acts of the early 80s: “Candy Girl,” the album title track of the act’s 1983 full-length debut Candy Girl was a Top 20 Hit on Billboard‘s R&B Singles Chart, 1984’s self-titled sophomore album, featured crossover hits “Cool It Now” and “Mr. Telephone Man.” “Cool It Now” peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and “Mr. Telephone Man” landed at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 — while simultaneously being their third #1 on the Black Singles chart. As a child of the 80s, New Edition was huge between roughly 1983 – 1986 or so.
Brown’s sophomore album, 1988’s Don’t Be Cruel, which features songwriting and production from acclaimed hitmakers Babyface, Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Teddy Riley was not only his most commercially successful solo album of his career, but it saw him pioneering New Jack Swing — the pop sound of the late 80s. Don’t Be Cruel featured five Top 10 Billboard 100 Hits, including the #1, self-penned “My Prerogative,” “Every Little Step,” which landed at #3 on the Billboard 100 — both of which are his signature hits. (“Every Little Step” is one of my favorite Bobby Brown songs ever. In my book, it’s just a great pop/R&B song.)
Don’t Be Cruel would eventually sell 12 million copies globally, making it the bestselling album of 1989. The album also helped earned two American Music Awards, a Soul Train Music Award, a People’s Choice Award — and a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Every Little Step.”
1992’s Bobby was released as New Jack Swing was on its death knell, but it was a commercial success: The album sold three million copies and featured several hit singles including “Humpin’ Around,” arguably the biggest hit on the entire album, “Get Away” and “Good Enough.” The album help earned Brown his third American Music Award and his second Grammy Award nomination for “Humpin’ Around.”
When I think of the sound and look of the late 80s, my mind almost immediately goes back to Bobby Brown. Strange how that works, huh?
Happy birthday, Bobby!
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